Former NFL running back Mack W. Herron, whose power and small stature earned him the nickname “Mini Mack” when he played for the New England Patriots during the 1970s, is accused again of drug possession after being arrested this week on the West Side, authorities said.

A judge on Thursday set bail at $25,000 for Herron, 65, of the 1800 block of South Hamlin Avenue, on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.

Herron is expected to appear in court again on April 4, according to the sheriff’s office.

Ted Golliday, 49, of Bellwood, also charged with possession of a controlled substance in the same incident and bail for him was set at $20,000, according to the sheriff’s site.

Wednesday about 10:30 a.m. Herron was behind the wheel of a tan 2003 Chevrolet Impala when a police officer saw the car stop in the 1400 block of South Central Park Avenue and its front seat passenger, identified as Golliday, get out, according to a police report.

Golliday engaged in a brief conversation with a man on the street who was in his 20s and wearing a red hat, a black jacket and tan pants, and then gave money to the man in exchange for “small objects,’’ which Golliday put into his front pants pocket, the report said.

After Golliday got back into the Impala, Herron drove southbound. The officer believed the actions he saw were a narcotics transaction, so he radioed the information in to other officers and the Impala was pulled over in the 3500 block of West 15th Street, according to the report.

When police asked Herron to get out of the car, he was seen dropping a clear plastic baggie containing a white powdery substance police believed was heroin, police said. Herron and Golliday were taken into custody, the report said.

Herron was arrested in May of 2011, also for drug charges, authorities said.

Chicago police saw Herron, who was 62 at that time, at the back door of an abandoned building in the 1600 block of South Drake Avenue in the North Lawndale neighborhood about 3 p.m. on May, 6, 2011, according to a police report.

As the officers approached, Herron, whose address at that time was in the 1800 block of South Hamlin Avenue, dropped a tinfoil packet holding 0.20 of a gram of heroin, police said.

A former gridiron star at Farragut High School, Herron was an explosive multi-purpose offensive player for the Patriots, standing just over 5-feet-5-inches tall. In 1974, he set a National Football League record with 2,444 all-purpose yards, beating a 1966 record held by Chicago Bears legend Gale Sayers, according to football reference websites.

Herron has been arrested dozens of times since he left football and has at least seven felony convictions, prosecutors said.

The true litmus test for new offensive coordinator Marc Trestman and a blended offense that still incorporates many of former offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak's West Coast offensive concepts is roughly six weeks away.